(MISA/IFEX) – On 25 February 2000, the editor of the Kiswahili daily “Kasheshe”, Venance Mlay, was reportedly detained for interrogation over a story published on 18 January. The story reported that police in the town of Mbeya shot a Tunduma resident to death following a pursuit. Dar es Salaam police allegedly informed Mlay upon his […]
(MISA/IFEX) – On 25 February 2000, the editor of the Kiswahili daily “Kasheshe”, Venance Mlay, was reportedly detained for interrogation over a story published on 18 January. The story reported that police in the town of Mbeya shot a Tunduma resident to death following a pursuit.
Dar es Salaam police allegedly informed Mlay upon his arrest that they were under instructions from the Mbeya Regional Crime Officer (RCO), Ernest Sakawa. After his arrest, Mlay was informed that police from Mbeya had arrived with instructions to take him to the Mbeya RCO. Mlay was accused of writing a seditious article and was held in detention for five hours before being released on bail on the condition that he return to the police station on 28 February for a police-escorted trip to Mbeya.
In an earlier incident, two weeks after the story appeared, two policemen (one of whom was from Mbeya), arrived at the offices of The Guardian Limited, owners of “Kasheshe”, and demanded photos, the reporter and the source of the story reported on 18 January. When the police were denied their demands, they ordered Mlay to report to the police station the following day, where he was briefly detained and released.
